How Mayor denied claims... and then the heads began to roll

Thursday 5 March 2009 10:13 BST

5 December 2007: Standard reveals Lee Jasper, Mayor's director of equalities and policing, is under GLA investigation after at least £2.5 million in City Hall money went to bodies controlled by his associates which appeared to do little or no work. Ken Livingstone tells BBC there is a "complete audit trail" of the grants.

11 December: An inquiry is launched into £500,000 of public funds given to Brixton Base. The LDA, which awarded money to the project, is conducting an audit. The Mayor says claims are "fishing expeditions".

21 December: Three former instructors allege fraud and intimidation at South London Green Badge Taxi School, which received LDA money. Police are called in.

11 January 2008: The LDA inquiry is unable to conclude whether money has been spent fraudulently. The Met is to investigate Diversity Works, the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners, which received £25,000, and the Deshbangla Foundation, which received £30,000.

23 January: Mr Jasper's deputy, Rosemary Emodi, quits £100,000-a-year post after taking a free trip to Nigeria with Errol Walters, director of two organisations linked to Mr Jasper that received City Hall cash. The Mayor's office had said Ms Emodi had not been on the trip.

28 January: Mr Jasper admits £18,000 of City Hall money was improperly diverted to bail out Ethnic Mutual, of which he is a director, but says he knew nothing of the payment. Met launches an inquiry and days later another one, into Brixton Base.

7 February: Mr Lewis says Mr Jasper behaved inappropriately. Mr Livingstone admits his audit trail comment was untrue and claims he was in dark about how money was awarded until the LDA inquiry reported.

4 March: Lee Jasper quits after a series of sexually charged emails sent to a woman whose organisation received funding is revealed.

8 May: Boris Johnson announces Forensic Audit Panel will investigate the allegations. It reports Caribbean Showcase to police after finding that money "may have gone missing or been misappropriated".